Page 20 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)

Oscar swallowed. “Was. I used to be a stock market trader. For many years. But that took a turn for the worst recently, and that landed me here. I couldn’t afford to live in New York anymore.”

Sally’s heart went out to him, and she resisted an urge to touch his hand sympathetically.

“That’s tough, I’m so sorry, Oscar. Feeling as though you’re being forced to start a new life must be unpleasant.

But on the bright side, at least you’ve found yourself in a fantastic new place to start over in!

I would have recommended Rosewood Beach to you over any other place in the country—maybe in the world. It’s not so bad, right?”

Oscar got the same look in his eyes that he’d had when he’d opened his mouth to speak earlier but had seemed to change his mind.

“It was recommended to me, actually. Sort of in a round-about way. My great-grandmother loved it here. I remembered her talking about it during my childhood. I’d stopped thinking it was a real place, but then I saw it on the map. So I decided to come here.”

Sally grinned, delighted by the story. It seemed as though his great-grandmother was some kind of guardian angel, guiding his life even from the past. “And what a wonderful choice it was. There’s always a silver lining to every cloud, and our lovely little town can be your silver lining.

After all, if you hadn’t come here, then you never would have gotten to admire my new nautical décor at Ocean Breeze Café, for instance.

I just know you never would have wanted to miss that opportunity. ”

Oscar started laughing as if he couldn’t help it.

Sally was struck again by how much she liked his laugh.

“I wouldn’t go quite that far.” He shook his head, smiling.

“And the truth is—” His voice dropped in volume as he spoke vulnerably for a moment.

“It’s been hard to find any silver linings in all this.

It was a huge blow, losing my career the way that I did.

I was extremely successful for many years.

This bad luck did more than cause me to lose my home and my money, it also made me question myself.

I’d come to believe I was a very skilled, capable man.

Ever since my recent failures, I haven’t been sure of that.

It’s like I—well, never mind. It hasn’t been a pleasant experience. ”

Sally nodded sympathetically, and this time her hand actually twitched as she fought off the desire to take his hand in hers and squeeze it.

“I’m sure it is hard,” she said, talking because she guessed that he wanted her to take over the conversation for a while as he wrestled with his emotions.

“And I’m sure I don’t really understand what you’re going through, but I can understand it a little.

When it had first started to feel as though I was incapable of turning over the sort of profit that I’ve been used to, I started to question my abilities as a businesswoman.

Failure tends to make us doubt ourselves.

I don’t think we should let it, since everyone fails sometimes, but it’s hard not to think that way. ”

Oscar watched her for a few moments as if she was something fascinating that he didn’t quite understand. “How do you think, Sally?” he asked finally. “What goes on in your head all the time?

She laughed. “What do you mean?”

“You’re so optimistic. How do you do it? Has nothing bad ever really happened to you?”

Sally thought about her heartbreak ten years ago, and of her constant struggles with grieving the fact that she had no family of her own.

She shook her head. “Bad things have happened to me. Bad things happen to everyone. Optimism doesn’t ignore the facts, it’s a form of courage, I think.

It’s hard to stay positive when you’re worried that things will get worse or you know that what you’re going through isn’t a good thing.

But I believe that choosing to look on the bright side has many rewards, and science backs me up.

” She chuckled. “It’s good for the body.

And it’s easy to see the ways in which my trials have led me to good things, just like how your trials led you to Rosewood Beach.

Struggling with the business aspects of my business caused me to go to Vivian Owens for help.

I wanted to pick her brain about what I could do for my café, and our conversations about business blossomed into a friendship that I wouldn’t change for anything. ”

Oscar nodded slowly, clearly processing Sally’s words. She wished she could pull back the curtains of his mind, so to speak, and see what he was thinking. He was interesting her more and more as she wondered what kind of a person he’d been in decades past.

What kind of a person is he now? she wondered, watching him almost fondly . Maybe nobody knows yet, not even him. Maybe he’s at a crossroads because of everything that’s happened, and because he’s starting a new life in such a healing, compassionate place.

“And maybe it’s not fair to list it as a silver lining, since it’s for my benefit,” she said, smiling at him, “but you coming here to Rosewood Beach allowed you to give me all this great advice. I’m quite grateful for it.

And I can assure you that you’re definitely one heck of a businessman.

Thanks for sharing some of your expertise with me. ”

Oscar coughed gently, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t know that I would call that expertise. Just some general business strategies. It’s not like I did anything all that impressive.”

Sally’s heart went out to the man sitting in front of her again, and this time, she couldn’t resist her impulse to touch him.

“Oscar,” she said, gripping his forearm and looking very determined.

“Just because you had some setbacks doesn’t mean that everything you’ve accomplished in your life is now nonexistent.

You still did all those great things as a businessman.

And nothing can erase the skills that you have, clearly.

They’ll be useful to you again soon, although it sounds like you want it to be in a different capacity.

This ‘failure’ of yours has simply rerouted you in a new direction, not ended your time as a businessman.

There’s so much good you can still do with the skills you have. ”

Oscar stared at her as if he’d been frozen, and she removed her hand, wondering if she’d greatly overstepped by making such a passionate speech and touching him like that.

“I’m sorry,” she said, smiling apologetically. “I tend to speak my mind all the time, as long as my thoughts and ideas are positive. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything like that.”

Oscar shook his head, clearing his throat. “No, that’s all right.” He spoke slowly, looking down at the table instead of at her face. “Thank you. I appreciate you saying what you did.”

Sally nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at her. She felt something strange and achy well up in her chest.

“Well, I guess I’d better be going,” she said, laughing breathlessly. “Thank you again so much for the advice, Oscar. I can’t wait to put it to good use.”

“Anytime.” He looked up at her and smiled slightly. The achy feeling in her chest intensified. “I’ll check in at the café to see how things are going soon, once you’ve talked to the supplier.”

“Sounds great. But remember, you can come in whenever you want for the delicious food and the excellent company.”

Wiggling her fingers at him in a little wave, she walked away. She stepped through the front doors of The Lighthouse Grill and was halfway to her car before she realized something with a jolt.

I was flirting with him , she thought, her jaw dropping. She walked faster, floored by the realization. She got into her car and started the ignition, her head in a daze.

She hadn’t flirted with anyone in years. Why had she flirted with Oscar? Was she attracted to him all of a sudden, now that he’d shown himself to be so knowledgeable and helpful?

Or maybe, deep down, had she been attracted to him all along?

She drove away from The Lighthouse Grill, determined to focus her mind on other things. During the rest of her day, however, she couldn’t stop thinking about her conversation with Oscar and the funny way she was starting to feel.